"d" day for president obama and congressional leaders. automatic tax hikes and smaller paychecks hang in the balance. an american military here row the four-star general known as stormin' norman schwarzkopf has died. 16 deaths blamed on the most recent winter storm with another one on the way. a fiscal milk cliff could be humaning. thieves clean out a walmart, including guns, and bears over the bruins in the holiday bowl. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for friday, december 28th, 2012. good morning, i'm mara schiavocampo. even as the finger pointing

continues on capitol hill this morning there is new hope for a deal to avoid that pass cal cliff. president obama will be meeting with congressional leaders later today. nbc's danielle leigh joins us live with the latest on capitol hill. danielle what is the datest in terms of what we can expect in the next coming days and the likelihood that they can reach a deal? >> reporter: mara, good morning. well, this meeting that is the last meeting at the white house is going to be integral. they need to see progress in this meeting if they're going to get a deal done before midnight on monday. as you know, the senate keim back early from the christmas holiday yesterday. but they didn't seem able to compromise. they continued the bickering. the house wasn't even here. they're not even in play yet. they're not back until sunday. we need to see congressional leaders see some kind of a plan that can be voted on before that december 31st deadline. lawmakers say it's getting

decreasingly unlikely that's going to happen. a deal before the new year, although they seem it's possible, many think a deal will more likely come early in the new year, mara. >> and danielle, what will it mean for all of us in our pocketbooks if we do go over that cliff? >> reporter: well, it could mean a bite for all americans. if you're breaks $40,000 to $50,000 a year, we're talking about $1700 on average a year less than you're going to receive. $50,000 to $70,000, close to $2300 on average you'll receive. so people will feel this. the good news is that lawmakers could, even if we go over the fiscal cliff, retroactively fix those tax increases and spending cuts. but, mara, the big question is what is even an temporary uncertainty going to do to the stock market. >> danielle leigh, thank you for that report. the nation is mourning the loss of one of the great military leaders of our time. retired four star general norman

schwarzkopf died in his home in tampa, florida. the cause of death is unknown. he was 78. known as stormin' norman was movies famous for leading the victory in 1991. under schwarzkopf's command he earned two purple hearts. the white house is calls schwarzkopf an american original. general colin powell said of his friend that he, quote, not only inspired his troops but as inspired the nation. schwartz cough is survived by his wife brenda and his three children. former president george h.w. bush remains in the hospital in houston recovering from a terrible case of bronchitis which has triggered a series of complications. while mr. bush's condition is serious, in an e-mail yesterday, a spokesman said the former president hasn't lost his sense

of humor. he said to please put the harp back in the closet. the family spokesperson joked i'm thinking heaven haven't seen a barrage of prayers like this since "it's a wonderful life." this is parts of the northeast and midwest be still digging out from the last two winter storms which has left as much as 65% of country covered in snow as of thursday morning. the national weather service said snowfall totals in upstate new york and parts of vermont range from 11 to 15 inches but after a year of almost no snow and a late start this year, folks are trying to make the most of it. snow blowers are out in full force. reminding people to be careful because roads are slick. now, a look at the weather, here's nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer. >> good morning, we're talking more snow possible for saturday.

last year, we had this year or season where we didn't get a whole lot of snow and we're certainly making up for it. we're looking at a storm system back through louisiana through arkansas bringing mostly range through that region at this point but we are going to see it working with colder air to the north. there is a chance that there is going to be mainly snow all across the northeast. but it's not a strong storm and it's going to stay mostly to the south of new england. so that's going to affect snowfall totals in most areas in the northeast. maybe about 3 inches tops. this is not going to be a major storm here. but we do have this storm on track to move through tennessee and then eventually off the coastline of the mid-atlantic. so that's why it's not looking like it's going to turn into one of those huge storms that barrels into the northeast. we do have winter weather advisories right now mostly through arkansas basically because of the freezing rain. but most other areas are not seeing much other than rain in arkansas and louisiana.

we are looking at that storm to stay to the south. mostly rain across the buzzard's bay area and rhode island. but the varying purple healer, closest to rain or changing over to snow. there is a chance we could be seeing 3 to 5 inches, 5 would be pushing it. i'd say most will see 3 inches. that's a look across the country. now here's a peek out your window. >> new york city, 39 degrees, a little break but again not much. charlotte, 51 degrees. looks good in florida, 70 today. and some of those storms could be strong in new orleans later this afternoon. >> so we are talking another storm, again, it's minor, i'd say 3 uninches would be a good guess. coming up, a million-dollar t-rex smuggling ring. newtown shooter adam lanza's dna

will be studied. plus who are hollywood's most bankable stars? you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." scientists plan to study the dna of adam lanza the 20-year-old who shoot and killed 26 people at newtown, connecticut. they hope to find an abnormality that could predict an inclination towards violence. secretary of state hillary clinton will return to work next week after a stomach flu and concussion sidelined her three weeks. she will report on security failures and the september 11th attack in benghazi, libya, that killed four americans. some good news on law enforcement, deaths of police fell 23%. with just four days left until the end of the year, 127 state

and local offices as compared to 165 last year. next, to the criminal world of dinosaur smugglers. a fossil dealer from florida admitted to sneaking stolen dinosaur bones to the u.s. the bones included a 70-year-old tyrannosaurus that sold at auction for more than $1 million. and finally, from the cute file, we've been tracking the progress of this 5-year-old panda cub from the san diego zoo. he tips the scales at 14 pounds and zookeepers say he's growing normally. he's got a big plastic ring and chewing on bamboo. glad to see he's doing well. over to wall street for a check. the dow lost 18 on thursday closing at 13,096. the s&p was down a point and the nasdaq lost 4. overseas, nikkei gained 72 points while the hang seng added

46. as those fiscal cliff worries become more real on main street and wall street, a dramatic drop sent stocks skidding thursday on news that house members will return to negotiations sunday evening. on investors' radar the latest pending home sales data comes out at 10:00 a.m. meanwhile, the dairy industry is calling it the milk cliff. if congress doesn't approve a bill by january 1st, the prices could skyrocket from $3.65 a gallon to as much as $8. to think that wisconsin cheddar could cost more than imported french brie. dock workers are threatening to walk out on the job over contracts that are set to expire. strikes could cause a crippling domino effect. the white house is urging an agreement as quickly as

possible. monthly rents are on the rise. as of october the average was $1,044 up 3.7% over last year. the tsa said travelers have attempted to carry as much as 1500 firearms on u.s. airports and airplanes in 2012. 1300 of those were loaded. a separate report found most firearms were confiscated at hartsfield-jackson airport. and seaworld is hoping to make a big flash by going public. the company is hoping to pay down debt with its ipo. no word yet on a stock price or investing in shamu. where do you get the best bang for your buck in hollywood, natalie portman brings in $43 for every dollar the studio spends on her. close behind, kristen stewart who averages $40. smile smile la labeouf, 65, and

$30 for every dollar earn. a sandy hook scam artist is busted. a buy-back program that rocket launches two. and tim tebow gets shoved aside again. plus, police are on the lookout for these crooks -- not those crooks. there they are. over $30, including four guns. and we are looking at the chance of more snow in the northeast. this weekend. i'll have your forecast coming up. you're watching "early today." hey, dad.

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welcome back. here are some stories making news across america. we begin with a christmas morning raid on a new mexico walmart where thieves stole over $30,000 worth of merchandise. the smash and grab heist inside the empty store admitted cash, jewelry and four rifles, all while a security guard patrolled outside. next, to connecticut where a scam artist faces charges for a disturbing crime. noel alba alleged closed as the aunt of noah pozner. the buy-back wave recently

hit los angeles. police collected over 5,000 firearms including a rocket launcher photographed by the "l.a. times." bridgeport, connecticut will hold their second buyback program, just 90 miles from newtown. in utah, many flocked to a gun control attendance. in utah one of the few states that permits licensed weapons in schools without exception. and finally, a kentucky state trooper initially had no clue how 22 horse it's turned up in his front yard christmas night. he learned it wasn't the work of santa but instead said the owners came forward and said the horses escaped after a storm hit their home. now to sports, new mexico upset number eight cincinnati. the narrow jumper 55-54 victory.

in the nba, overtime, oklahoma city's russell westbrook gave the thunder the lead as they beat dallas 111-105. and dwyane wade was suspended after an incident in which he hit sessions with a knee to the groin. and tim tebow upset about going back to mark sanchez to start the last game of the season. and now to a few college goal games. mirrors the military bowl, 24th ranked san jose state took lead and the spartans went on to a 29-20 win over bowling green. and the holiday bowl -- i can't read this one. dylan, can you take it away? >> too hard, huh? listen, i went to rutgers, i'm not even used to going to a bowl game, i know how you feel. in the holiday bowl, baylor

jumped tout an early lead over ucla as they scored on the ground and in the air. and the bears crushed, sorry, crushed the bruins 49-26. >> there's always next year. thanks for your help on that. just ahead, the most pirated movies of 2012. the late larry hagman and a new reality show. plus, one lucky dog and his handler have something to be thankful for this holiday season. "early today" returns in just a moment.

good morning and welcome back. we still have all of that cold air, the single difgits, the teens, the 20s. east coast still chilly. boston at 29. new york city at 30 degrees. with all that moisture, it could be icy. with that wind it feels like the teens in most areas. it is going to be dry across the northeast today. you see all that rain that we see in new orleans, and basically the entire gulf coast area. that is all going to move up to the northeast for saturday. and it looks like a few inches of snow possible in the northeast on saturday and top of what wee picked up recently. in entertainment news, the most pirated movie of 2012 is probably one you haven't even seen. high school party film "project x" was illegally yon loaded. runners up include mission impossible and ghost rises.

and the wife of late dick clark dedicated the ball on new york eve thursday. academy awards voting is online for the first time and academy members are reportedly having trouble casting their ballots. a spokesman for the 85-year-old academy say issues are coming up because members keep forgetting their passwords. american soul singer fontella bass has died at the age of 82. and larry hagman will appear posthumously on a show called "i get that a lot." hagman will be playing a costco worker handing out free samples. i had seen promotions for the show. i always feel, would i know if something were going phone a celebrity were serving me at costco.

>> i see that, and i think, no, they can't be. >> it should be fun to watch. and this comes to us from wdiv in detroit, michigan. nearby browns township, a good samaritan risks his life to save a stranded dog. the brave man leaps into action when he sees the dog stuck in lake erie. his rescue floundered when he was not able to rescue the dog. thank goodness rescuers were able to get a boat and get to the dog and the human. >> especially when a human is sitting in the frigid cold water to save the dog. >> i'm mara schiavocampo and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

just as the region gets over one storm, another strong winter weather system is on the way. we're tracking the forecast that ruin some weekend plans. good morning, i'm aaron gilchrist. i'm erika gonzalez in for eun yang. welcome to friday, december 28, 2012. we'll get to that forecast in just a moment. but first, new this morning, the springfield interchange is back open after a deadly crash on the beltway. three people died when a pickup truck slammed into a tractor-trailer on the ramp from the beltway to i-95. the crash happened around 7:00

last night. the cause is still under investigation. police shut down the ramp as a precaution. but the ramp reopened just about 2:00 this morning. the loudoun county sheriff's office is investigating a deadly shooting. this happened around 7:00 last night in sterling. deputies found the victim shot to death near great trail terrace and trail run terrace. his name not released. detectives believe the man was targeted. anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's office. it's expected to be a snowy, slushy weekend as a winter storm is rolling through. road crews are prepping folks for the weekend saying they're getting ready for a full deployment tomorrow. in maryland, that means 2500 trucks out in force today salting the roads and preparing their plows for tomorrow. vdot says they'll make their plans today for how they'll respond to the impending storm. in the district, they get to break out new equipment for the first time this winter. >> we a